Variable impact tile press



April 27, 1965 H. w. LAMB 3,179,998

VARIABLE IMPACT TI LE PRESS Filed Oct. 12, 1962 6 Sheets-Sheet 1 3Harold 11! Lamb INVENTOR.

A fil 27,1965

Filed Oct. 12, 1962 H. W. LAMB VARIABLE IMPACT TILE PRESS 6 Sheets-Sheet2 Harold VTLamb INV EN TOR.

April 27, 1965 H. w. LAMB 3,179,998

VARIABLE IMPACT TILE PRESS Filed Oct. 12, 1962 6 Sheets-Sheet 3 V 3f m ul 38 40 16 M Harold 1 Lamb A INVEN TOR.

HTTORNE) April 27, 1965 H. w., LAMB VARIABLE IMPACT TILE PRESS 6Sheets-Sheet 4 Filed Oct. 12, 1962 rd mvi w wwk Harold W. Lamb INVENTOR.

April 27, 1965 H. w. LAMB 3,179,998

VARIABLE IMPACT TILE PRESS Filed Oct. 12, 1962 6 Sheets-Sheet 5 LL] I I66 46 g Harold PV. Lamb INVEN TOR.

April 27, 1965 H. w. LAMB 3,179,998

VARIABLE IMPACT TILE PRESS Filed Oct. 12, 1962 6 Sheets-Sheet 6 HaroldWTLCWnb INVHVTOR.

BY .114 wax,

n T ram/5y United States Patent Jersey Filed Oct. 12, 1962, Ser. No.230,044 3 Claims. ((Il. 25-84) This invention relates to power pressesof the general type employed in compressing pulverized clay or otherpulverized material into tile or other compact products adaptable tosuch press and die operations.

In presses of the type referred to the die cavity is formed by means ofa die case surrounding and slidable on a vertical stationary die memberin a telescopic manner and the tile is ejected from the cavity bylowering the die case. The clay dust for a new tile is supplied to thedie cavity by means of a rectangular dustbox or tray which first pushesthe previously completed tile from the cavity area, after which the diecase is immediately raised and the cavity formed thereby is filled withclay dust by sweeping or Wiping action of the dust box, as it passesover the cavity. The dust box is then returned to its starting positionand the ram member of the press shaped for close fitting insertion intothe die cavity is lowered into the cavity to compact the clay dusttherein into a tile.

In previous presses of the type mentioned the impact of the ram memberon the clay dust in the die cavity is effected by mechanical power, andhas been found to have the serious disadvantage of trapping air in theclay dust due to the rapidity and force of the impact, and therebyresulting in defective tile.

Therefore, one of the principal objects of the present invention is toprovide a tile press having means for effecting an initial retardedimpact on the clay dust for forcing the air from the dust, followedimmediately by a more rapid and heavier impact for forming the completedtile. For the purposes of this invention I employ two heavy impactmembers one above the other, the lowermost of which is suspended fromthe other in vertically spaced and movable relation and from which theram depends; and the uppermost of which is attached to the piston rod ofan air cylinder having electrical control valve means for simultaneouslyadmitting air pres sure into both ends of the cylinder for effecting aretarded lowering of both impact members until the ram slightly pressesthe dust in the die cavity, and then releasing the air pressure from thelower end of the cylinder while maintaining the air pressure in theupper end thereby effecting accelerated and heavy impact of theuppermost impact member upon the lowermost member, the force of whichimpact is transmitted to the ram and the clay dust in the die cavity.The initial force exerted by the ram as it comes into the clay dust andcompresses it is adjustable and controllable by the weight andcooperation of the lowermost or suspended member, and by the speed withwhich it is lowered, which, in turn, is determined by the speed andlength'of travel between this member in its upper starting position andits position upon contact of the uppermost member therewith.

The speed of the simultaneous downward movement of the impact members iscontrolled by a differential of air pressure above and below the pistonto which the uppermost impact member is attached, and/or also thetransverse area or diameter of the piston rod, which traverses thebottom portion of the cylinder, and the diameter oi the piston andcreates a preponderance of pres sure above the piston, whichmay befurther varied by means of regulators in the air pressure lines.

Thevertical space between the lowermost and uppermost impact members mayalso be varied as required by 3,179,998 Patented Apr. 2'7, 1965 ICC theaxial adjustment of the rods upon which they are slidably mounted. Thegreater the spacing the more acceleration of movement of the uppermostmember and, consequently, the greater the force of impact of theuppermost upon the lowermost member.

In previous presses of the type mentioned the dust box is supplied withclay dust at only one side of the press, so that after the initialstroke or horizontal movement of the dust box across the die cavity, todeposit therein the clay dust for the next tile, the dust box isreturned to its starting position for another supply of dust. In orderto ensure a complete filling of the die cavity the dust box isnecessarily supplied with a greater quantity of clay dust than thatrequired to fill the die cavity. Consequently, in its return passageover the die cavity the back end of the box drags and impacts more dustinto that already in the die cavity, especially toward the front edge ofthe cavity, resulting in a tile of uneven thickness and compactness.

Therefore, another, and important, object of this invention is toprovide a tile press of the character referred to having means forsupplying clay dust to the dust box on each side of the press, so thatthe die cavity is filled with clay dust by a single stroke of the dustbox across the cavity, resulting in an even, uniform filling of thecavity.

Other objects and advantages of my improved tile press will be apparentor pointed out in the following specifications in which reference is hadto the accompanying drawing forming a part thereof, and in which FIG. 1is a front elevation of a tile press in accordance with the presentinvention, with some of the parts omitted in the illustration;

FIG. 2 is a section taken on the line 22 of FIG. 1;

FIG. 3 is a section taken on the line 3-3 of FIG. 1;

FIG. 4 is a section taken on the line 44- of FIG. 3, with the aircylinder shown exteriorly;

FIG. 5 is a section taken on the line 55 of FIG. 4, with the aircylinder also shown exteriorly;

FIG. 6 is a section taken on the line 66 of FIG. 2;

FIG. 7 is a detail section similar to FIG. 2 and showing the initialimpact of the press ram;

FIG. 8 is a similar detail View showing the completion of a tile;

FIG. 9 is a similar view showing a completed tile being pushed by theclay dust box from the area of the die caivty; and

PEG. 10 is a schematic diagram showing the arrangement of the severalair cylinders, electrical air pressure control valves and switchesemployed in the press illus-' trated.

Referring to the drawing in which like reference characters designatelike parts in the several views, 10 is a vertical press base upon whichis slidably mounted a pairv of heavy metal impact members 12 and 14 oneabove the other. The lowermost impact member 14 is suspended from theuppermost member 12 in vertically spaced and unrestrained slidablerelation on a plurality of rods 1:6 which are threaded into the member14 to provide means for adjusting the space between the two members,each of which is notched on one edge, as indicated at 18 (FIGS, 3 and 5)for engagement with a V-shaped guide member Zil mounted on the pressbase 16.

The uppermost impact member 12 is rigidly attached to the piston rod 22of an air cylinder A, the ends of which are closed and in communicationwith a source of air pressure through pipes 24 and 26 having airpressure regulators 2S and 27 and electrical control valves Al and A4.The press ram 28 is rigidly attached to the-lowermost impact member 14in depending relation therewith. One edge of the uppermost member 12 isprovided with a socket fail for engagement therein of horizontal latchbar 32 which is attached to the piston rod 34 of an air cylinder Bmounted on the press base 10 and the ends of which are in communicationwith a source of air pressure through pipes 38 and 40 provided withelectrical control valves B1 and B3. This latch bar is slidably insertedinto the socket to hold the members 12 and 14 in their uppermoststarting positions and is withdrawn to permit downward movement of thosemembers. The members 12 and 14 may be made of cast iron and providedwith steel contact plates 12:: and 14a. The bottom of the inner end ofthe bar is inclined as shown at 33 (FIG. 4) and upon the upward movementof member 12 is retracted by contact with a beveled portion 35 in theupper edge of the member 12.

A stationary and vertically elongated die member 42 is mounted on ahorizontal portion 44 of the press base, and a die case 46 is slidablyor telescopically mounted over the die member 42 for forming a diecavity below the ram 28. The die case 46 is attached through rods 48 andyoke 50 to the piston rod 52 of an air cylinder C, the ends of which arein communication with a source of air pressure through pipes 54 and 56having electrical control valves.C1 and C4. The upward movement of thepiston rod 52 and die case 46 is limited by an adjustable wedge device58 operated by a handle 60. The downward movement of the piston rod 52is limited by vertical rods 62 adjustably mounted at their lower ends ina plate 64 on the bottom of the cylinder C and in abutting engagement attheir upper ends with the yoke 50.

A horizontal plate or platform 66 is rigidly attached to the die case 46with its top surface flush with that of the die case and extends asubstantial distance forwardly and rearwardly of the die case. Arectangular clay dust box or tray 68 having an open bottom is mounted onthe platform for slidable movement thereon across a die cavity formed bythe stationary member 42 and the die case 46 in either direction. Thedust box has projecting portions or bumpers 70 and 72 at its ends forpushing completed tile from the die cavity in advance of the arrival ofthe dust box. over the die cavity. One end of the dust box is attachedto the piston rod 74 of an air cylinder D having communication at itsends with a source of air pressure through pipes 80 and 82 which areprovided with electrical control valves D1 and D3.

As illustrated, the dust box is supplied with clay dust at each end ofits stroke from hoppers 84 and 86 in which their outlet ends are closedby pivotally mounted gates 88 and 90 provided with operating levers 92and 94 which are connected, respectively, to the piston rods 96 and 98of air cylinders E and P which are in communication with a source of airpressure through pipes 100, 102, 104 and 106 having electrical controlvalves E1, E3, F1 and F3.

The diagram FIG. 10 schematically indicates the arrangement of thevarious air cylinders, electrical control valves and switches at the endof one stroke of the dust box 68, after pushing a completed tile T fromthe die cavity and filling the die cavity with clay dust 108 as shown inFIG. 2. The connection of the switches with the electrical valves areindicated in broken linking lines. As show in the diagram, air pressureis on the bottom of cylinder A through switch A5 and contact A6, havingreturned the piston P, together with the impact members 12 and 14 totheir uppermost or starting positions. Air pressure is on the back ofcylinder B through switch B4 and contact B5, having inserted the latchbar 32 into the socket 30 in the upper impact member 12. Air pressure ison the bottom of cylinder C through switch C2, contact C3 and valve C1holding the die case 46 in its raised or cavity forming position. Airpressure is on the front of cylinder D through switch D2, contact D5 andvalve D1, holding dust box 68 in its starting position. Air pressure ison the back ends of cylinders E and F through switch E2 and contact E5and through switch F2 and contact F5, holding the gates 88 and 90 inclosed posicos .4 tion. Although the electrical valves and switches areshown schematically in separate relation, in actual practice they areall coordinated into an automatic timing switch unit connected in theelectrical circuit EC, so that when started into operation by closing aswitch 110 the air cylinder will function in cooperative sequence untilthe switch is again opened. Since such timing units are conventional andform no part of the present invention, illustration of details isomitted in the drawing.

FIG. 7 shows the ram 28 upon its initial retarded impact on the claydust 108 in the die cavity. In this phase of a cycle the latch bar 32will have been withdrawn from the socket 30, thereby releasing impactmembers 12 and 14 for downward movement, and both valves A1 and A4 ofcylinder A will be open and admitting air pressure into each end of thecylinder. As previously mentioned, due to the transverse area of thepiston rod 22, which extends through a packing in the bottom end of thecylinder, thereby causes a preponderance of pressure against the upperend of the piston P, which forces the impact members 12 and 14downwardly at a retarded rate of speed to effect a light impact of theram 28 on the clay dust 108 in the die cavity. During this stage thegate W of hopper 84 is opened by cylinder E to deposit a quantity ofclay dust 108 into the dust box 68, which is still held in its startingposition by the piston in cylinder D.

FIG. 8 shows the ram 28 upon completion of the formation of a tile T. Inthis stage the air pressure has been released from the bottom portion ofcylinder A thereby applying the full air pressure against the top of thepiston P, thereby accelerating member 12 downwardly and bringing contactplate 12a against contact plate 14a with great force which istransmitted to the ram 28 to complete the pressing of clay dust 108 intoa tile T. As previously mentioned, the force of impact by mem- 'ber 12is determined by acceleration of member 12 and to the vertical distancebetween contact plates 12a and 14a as governed by the axially adjustablerods 16. Further variations may be effected by the weight of member 12and the air pressure regulators 25 and 27. At this stage the dust box68, now filled with clay dust, is still held in its starting position.

FIG. 9 shows the start of the dust box with its charge of clay dust 108on its stroke across the die member 42, pushing the completed tile Ttherefrom. The air pressure has been released from the top of cylinder Athrough va lve A1 and the pressure applied to the bottom of the cylinderthrough valve A4. At this time the latch bar 32 is forced into thesocket 20 by cylinder B under air pressure through valve B3. Immediatelybefore the clay dust in the dust box 68 reaches the edge of the diemember 42 the air pressure is released from the top of cylinder C,through valve C4, and the pressure applied to the bottom of the cylinderthrough valve C1, which raises the die case 46 to form the die cavity.As the dust box 68 continues its stroke the cavity will be evenly filledwith clay dust through sweeping or wiping action of the following end ofthe dust box, which will continue its stroke until stopped under thehopper 86 to receive a supply of clay dust, which will be deposited inthe die cavity upon its return stroke to its starting position, as shownin FIG. 2, to begin a new cycle of operation, as already described. Thedust box 68 may be stopped at each end of its stroke by means of acollar 112 on a rod 114 attached to the piston rod 72 and abutments 116on the platform 70, or by other suitable means.

From the foregoing description it will be seen that I have provided atile press having the following outstanding advantages over previousdesigns, namely (1) means for pressing tile without the employment ofcams, screws or other conventional means, a press in which thepreliminary operation of expelling the air from the clay dust in the diecavity and the final pressing operation are almost simultaneous, and,because of the speed of movement of the impact members, this pressoperates much faster than presses of previous designs; (2) both the airexpelling operation and the final impact operation are completelyadjustable as to both force and speed; (3) the great forces required tocompact tile are obtained through acceleration of weight, without thenecessity of heavy motors and other expensive power equipment; (4) dueto the action of this press all applied forces are utilized incompacting the tile, and not dissipated; and (5) means for eliminatingthe return stroke of the dust box, thereby preventing the dragging ofadditional clay dust into the die cavity after it has been evenly filledduring the initial stroke of the dust box over the die cavity, therebyensuring a uniform deposit of clay dust in the die cavity and aresulting uniform thickness and compactness of the tile.

The important features mentioned are simple, efiicient and economical,resulting in a high tonnage press at eX- ceptionally low cost.

Obviously, various modifications or changes may be made in my improvedpress without departing from the spirit or scope of my invention.Therefore, it should be understood that the embodiment of my inventionshown and described is intended to be illustrative, only, and restrictedonly by the appended claims.

I claim:

1. In a tile press including a stationary die for containing clay dust,a cylinder having a piston, and a piston rod projecting from its lowerend, said press also including an upper impact member carried by saidpiston rod' and a lower impact member having means for suspending itfrom said upper member in initially spaced and limited unrestrained,vertically movable relation of said upper member toward and from saidlower member, the unrestrained movement of said upper member toward saidlower member being limited only by contact with said lower member andits unrestrained movement from said lower member being limited only bythe means for suspending the lower member therefrom; and a ram carriedby said lower impact member for impact on clay dust in said stationarydie; means for efiiecting a retarded and relatively light impact of saidram on said clay dust followed by a rapid and heavier impact on saiddust, and the immediate retraction of said ram from contact therewith,said means comprising, in combination, a pipe in communication with theupper end of said cylinder and a source of relatively high air pressure,and a pipe in communication with the lower end of said cylinder and asource of a lower air pressure, and electrically actuated air pressureflow control valve means in said pipes for simultaneously admitting airpressure from both air pressure sources into the respective ends of saidcylinder for effecting a retarded simultaneous downward movement of saidimpact members until the initial impact of the ram on said clay dust andthen immediately releasing the air pressure from the lower end of saidcylinder while maintaining the same air pressure in the upper end ofsaid cylinder for effecting a more rapid and heavier impact of the upperimpact member upon said lower member immediately following said initialimpact, and immediately thereafter releasing the air pressure from theupper end of the cylinder and admitting air pressure into its lower endto retract said ram.

2. A tile press as in claim 1 and including pressure regulating means inthe pipes communicating with the ends of the cylinder, for varying theair pressure in said pipes.

3. A tile press as in claim 1 and including means cooperative with themeans for suspending the lower impact member from the upper impactmember for adjusting the maximum space between said members.

References Cited by the Examiner UNITED STATES PATENTS 1,288,472 12/18Barr -269 1,460,287 6/23 Stevenson 2555 1,652,883 12/27 Ackermann 251032,383,736 8/45 Rembert et a1. 25-103 2,398,227 4/46 Hubbert 25-912,584,534 2/52 Barnhardtson 192-129 2,613,409 10/52 Miller 25-1032,674,008 4/54 Van Der Pyl 25103 2,770,862 11/56 Miller 25--84 2,855,62810/58 Lassman 25-102 2,888,731 6/59 McElroy et a1 25-102 3,060,540 10/62 Lapidus 25-103 ROBERT F. WHITE, Primary Examiner.

1. IN A TILE PRESS INCLUDING A STATIONARY DIE FOR CONTAINING CLAY DUST,A CYLINDER HAVING A PISTON, AND A PISTON ROD PROJECTING FROM ITS LOWEREND, SAID PRESS ALSO INCLUDING AN UPPER IMPACT MEMBER CARRIED BY SAIDPISTON ROD AND A LOWER IMPACT MEMBER HAVING MEANS FOR SUSPENDING IT FROMSAID UPPER MEMBER IN INITIALLY SPACED AND LIMITED UNRESTRAINED,VERTICALLY MOVABLE RELATION OF SAID UPPER MEMBER TOWARD AND FROM SAIDLOWER MEMBER, THE UNRESTRAINED MOVEMENT OF SAID UPPER MEMBER TOWARD SAIDLOWER MEMBER BEING LIMITED ONLY BY CONTACT WITH SAID LOWER MEMBER ANDITS UNRESTRAINED MOVEMENT FROM SAID LOWER MEMBER BEING LIMITED ONLY BYTHE MEANS FOR SUSPENDING THE LOWER MEMBER THEREFROM; AND A RAM CARRIEDBY SAID LOWER IMPACT MEMBER FOR IMPACT ON CLAY DUST IN SAID STATIONARYDIE; MEANS FOR EFFECTING A RETARDED AND RELATIVELY LIGHT IMPACT OF SAIDRAM ON SAID CLAY DUST FOLLOWED BY A RAPID AND HEAVIER IMPACT ON SAIDDUST, AND THE IMMEDIATE RETRACTION OF SAID RAM FROM CONTACT THEREWITH,SAID MEANS COMPRISING, IN COMBINATION, A PIPE IN COMMUNICATION WITH THEUPPER END OF SAID CYLINDER AND A SOURCE OF RELATIVELY HIGH AIR PRESSURE,AND A PIPE IN